DEVELOPMENT OF A WAVELENGTH-CHANGEABLE MULTI-BAND COLOR-MIXING DEVICE AND ITS APPLICATION

Authors: DING, FUJIAN - UNIV OF KY, VISITING SCI; Chen, Yud; Chao, Kuanglin - Kevin Chao

Submitted to: Proceedings of SPIE
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/20/2007
Publication Date: 2/21/2007
Citation: Ding, F., Chen, Y.R., Chao, K. Development of a wavelength-changeable multi-band color-mixing device and its application. Proceedings of SPIE. Online 02/21/2007.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Previously, we showed that two- and three-band color-mixing techniques could be used to achieve results optically equivalent to two- and three-band ratios that are normally implemented using multispectral imaging systems, for enhancing identification of single target types against a background and for separation of multiple targets by color or contrast. In this paper, a prototype of a wavelength-changeable two- and three-band color-mixing device is presented and its application is demonstrated. The wavelength-changeable device uses changeable central wavelength bandpass filters and various filter arrangements. The experiments showed that a color-mixing technique implemented in a pair of binoculars coupled with an imager could greatly enhance target identification of color-blindness test cards with hidden numbers and figures as the targets. Target identification of color blindness cards was greatly improved by using two-band color-mixing with filters at 620 nm and 650 nm, which were selected based on the criterion of uniform background. Target identification of a different set of color blindness test cards was also improved using three-band color-mixing with filters at 450 nm, 520 nm, and 632 nm, which were selected based on the criterion of maximum chromaticness difference. These experiments show that color-mixing techniques can significantly enhance electronic imaging and visual inspection.